PIERRE, S.D. – Three people have been chosen for induction into the South Dakota Transportation Hall of Honor for 2020. 

The purpose of the Transportation Hall of Honor is to recognize those who have made a lasting, valuable or unique contribution to South Dakota’s air, highway, public transit, or rail transportation system. 

The South Dakota Transportation Hall of Honor dates to 1972 and now includes 93 inductees. 

Ben Orsbon, Pierre, is the Federal Funding Specialist for the South Dakota Department of Transportation, a position he has held since 2005. Ben came to the department from the State Planning Bureau in 1984 and served as an Administrative Aid to Secretary Jim Myers; as a Transportation Planner; as an engineering supervisor; and as the Planning Program Manager. Ben graduated with a bachelor’s degree in political science and a master’s degree in regional planning from the University of North Carolina. 

Barb Cline, Spearfish, is the Executive Director of Prairie Hills Transit, a non-profit organization she founded more than 30 years ago. Her mission was, and still is, to fulfill the transportation needs of seniors, so she initiated the Spearfish Senior Transportation in Spearfish in 1989, operating just a few hours a day using a 10-year old van. In 1995, Barb stepped up to the challenge to unify various state agencies’ individual transportation to utilize the transit network she was building, which became Prairie Hills Transit. 

Myron Rau, Sioux Falls, is the Executive Director of the South Dakota Trucking Association and South Dakota Auto Dealers Association. Myron spent 26 years with the South Dakota Highway Patrol as a trooper, and rose from sergeant to captain in the motor carrier division. Myron retired from the SDHP in 2001 and has always been an advocate for the safe transportation of goods and maintaining quality roads for our citizens and visitors to use. 

Banquets to honor Orsbon, Cline, and Rau will be announced at a later date. 

For more information, contact Kari Kroll with the Department of Transportation at 605-773-5105.